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Monday, November 7, 2022

A giggle bubbles from Jessica's throat. “Monkeys are going to have sex aboard China’s Tiangong Space Station!” she says.

Stars fill the sky like sugar spilled over black marble. Beyond, galaxies are tumbling and darting, buzzing with as much excitement as in my heart. From a distance, I see Jessica through a swarm of people, standing at the intersection of Alor Road and Changkat Bukit Bintang.

I shoot my arm upward and wave my hand. “Hey, Jessica! Over here!” Her grey dress cinches her waist and follows the curve of her hips before falling into gentle pleats midcalf.

Strappy black sandals encase her feet, her red toenails peeking out and playing hide and seek as she walks towards me, standing on the roadside. She says, “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” She hauls her hazel eyes to meet mine, eyes that have the increasing ability to arrest my heart.

A rush of cool air stings my face. “How’s business tonight?” I give her my warmest smile hoping to set up a butterfly flutter in her chest.

“A slow Monday evening. Mummy Lulu sends you her regards. A client brought me a bunch of roses.” Jessica lifts up the bouquet. “Can you carry them for me, please? It’s heavy.” She skates her gaze down the drag westward.  Bright lights from countless hawker stalls make the neon lights of coffee shops and restaurants look pale and embarrassed.  “Let’s look around the stalls.”

Holding the bouquet, I traipse alongside Jessica past stalls selling a plethora of food.  A stall offering Mongolian BBQ grabs her attention for a tick but she decides against it after giving the skewers an once-over.  We go Vietnamese as its menu lists snails! I am adventurous.  So is Jessica. Our butts plop down on the plastic chairs on the sidewalk.

“What exactly are you up to now?” Jessica asks with a smile. The curve of her lips looks so inviting for a kiss that I bite my lower lip to fight the temptation.

“Reading noir novels. To prep myself to write one myself.”

“Good luck to you.” Jessica casts her gaze upward. “Nice starry night—hey, look up! Can you see the Tiangong Space Station?”

“Yeah, I can see it. I’ve telescopic eyes! Internet news say it’ll be operational early next year. That’s all I know.” 

“I’ve been following progress on this project. Here’s the latest. Monkeys are going to”—leaning forward, Jessica lowers her voice and spells out the alphabets—“f-u-c-k on Wentian, the biggest module of the station.”  Delicate laugh lines fan the edge of Jessica’s lips as humour lights her face. “It’s an experiment to determine whether reproduction can take place in space. The brainchild of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.” She rests her clasped hands on the table, their fingers intertwined like mating worms. “Another interesting experiment is trying to grow edible plants, proposed by another country.”

Our food arrives and I sit up straight. “Which country? The US?” I tuck into my plate of snails while Jessica eats her spring roll, her starter.

A gust picks a few wayward strands of Jessica’s hair and dances with them about her face. “Nope, US is totally out!” She lifts her hand to still the hair flittering about her face.

“Why?”

“Revenge, sweet revenge.”  Jessica's eyes glitter like a splintered black onyx, full of cold heat and fury. “In 2011, the Wolf Clause prohibited NASA from allowing Chinese astronauts from entering the US International Space Station. So this time China kicked US out.”

Hate gurgles in my stomach like acid. “Tiew ni ma chow hai! Last time, the US was so nasty, huh?” My breath hitches, and I’m mortified by the words leaving my lips but it’s too late. “Ahem, I’m sorry I used bad words!” I expel a little laugh to deflect my embarrassment. “Anyway, serves US right! Good, tit for tat.”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GhXk5X6mvQ

“Never mind that, sorry, I used the f-word too! That makes the two of us.” Jessica’s eyes become rounder, making them clearer and more beautiful.  “As a face-saving gesture, the US issued a statement that the Chinese station does not meet American standards.  That’s rubbish! Phooey!” From her mouth, bits of chewed veggies fly to the centre of the table. “Oops, sorry, I blew food out.” She sniggers, plucks a tissue from her purse and swipes her lips with it. “There’s also the issue of astronauts having to learn Mandarin before using the station.

Come on, all instrument panels are in Mandarin, everything’s in Mandarin, including operational manuals and door signs. So, the Mandarin requirement cannot be helped.”  

I take a glug of my beer, its frothy taste bubbling my mood.  “Do you think the female monkey will come back pregnant?”

Rolling her eyes in thought, Jessica weighs her words before she allows them to slip from her mouth. “I doubt so.”

“Oh, why?” My eyebrows rise skyward.

“The Russians have sent female and male mice into space before. They, err, what’s that word—ah, yes, copulated, but the female mice did not become pregnant.” Shaking her head, she offers a half smile which fades into a grimace. “That’s not good news. It means if there’s an Apocalypse, we humans can escape to space and live there. But we can’t reproduce and that’ll be the gradual end of humankind.”

The air in my lungs becomes as thick as the conviction in Jessica’s voice. Flicks of anxiety nick at me as I mumble, “That’s sad.”

/end

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